We have reported before on the Hoshi family and their work in the evacuation zone rescuing and feeding abandoned pets. Hiroshi and Leo remain in jail and had a court appearance on March 11th.
Initially the Futaba police made an accusation of “fraud” and seized all of the computers from their auto parts business. This made it impossible for the business to operate in their absence. At the court hearing the police & prosecuters were unable to elaborate or make a formal fraud case. Those more familiar with the case said if the police had a case they would have formally charged them by now and bail would have been set. The police were unable to find any evidence of any fraud in the computers seized. So far the only charges … Read entire article »

Hachiko Coalition is reporting that Leo and Hiroshi Hoshi, both animal rescue volunteers who have been feeding and rescuing the pets left behind in the Fukushima evacuation zone have been arrested by Futaba police.
The report from Hachiko Coalition:
“BREAKING NEWS: Two of the Hoshi Family Have Been Arrested as of Yesterday and detained by the Futaba Fukushima Police. Of course it is none other than animal activists Hoshi Hiroshi and Leo Hoshi. They cannot be contacted and are being charged with crimes. The Hoshi Hiroshi Family has been rescuing animals each weekend inside the zone and surroundings for almost 2 years as a private volunteer rescue group. This is atrocious and we will be showing our support. Stay tuned as we learn more.”
No information or recent posts were on the group’s … Read entire article »

Elderly residents of Futaba are still living in an unused school building in Saitama prefecture. As the initial evacuation turned to a more long term response to all the displaced residents many were able to move to temporary housing units that look like a very small trailer. Others were able to find apartments to rent. These Futaba residents are still in the school. They have been being charged for food service for months even though most live on their monthly pensions. Many who are there require nursing care of some kind. So far no one has proposed a better situation for these residents such as an assisted living situation where they could move to together or converting the unused school into something more livable for those who found themselves living … Read entire article »

Sending this out in case any of our readers might be able to help out.
Heart Tokushima has been busy supporting the animal rescue efforts in Fukushima. They have taken in tons of animals abandoned in the zone over the last year and a half.
They need to do some expansion work and their budget is already stretched with all of the animals coming in. They need someone with carpentry skills to help them build a cat house at their facility.
This is Kimiko’s plea for assistance via Facebook.
“Can anyone help builing a shelter for kitties in Tokushima Japan? From Rose
“I am trying to get some people together to help out at HEART Tokushima next spring. They need cat buildings to be built on the shelter property. The one thing we really need … Read entire article »

This is a story that has been going on since soon after the disaster. The authorities told people to evacuate but leave pets at home, that they would be able to return in a few days. That never happened.
What did happen is one of the worst animal disasters on record. All the pets and livestock in the evacuation zone were left to starve and die as many of them have. Over a year and a half later animal rescue groups continue to fight the government to do the humane thing and rescue the remaining surviving animals. The animal rescue groups have appealed to the government in many different ways and have tried to work within the governments brief attempt to appease the public on the animal abandonment issue. The government … Read entire article »

With less than two months until the anniversary of the quake, tsunami and nuclear accident, the scope of the radiation contamination continues to grow as does the frustration of people with what seems to be an utterly tone deaf government.
EX-SKF talks about the slow rude awakening of people in Japan as they realize their government is indifferent to their plight and safety. NISA held a public meeting on the stress tests and restart of the Oi nuclear reactor. This was a public meeting but when the public did anything other than sit quietly in their seats the meeting was stopped and the police were called. NISA tried to paint the disruption as a small group of disrupters bursting into the meeting but IWJ an independent media outlet in Japan was … Read entire article »

As the nuclear accident spiraled out of control, nearby residents were told to evacuate immediately. They were also told to leave their pets behind as they would be allowed to return home in a few days. That never happened. This resulted in thousands of suddenly abandoned animals that the owners would have never left behind had they known the government assurances were a lie.
Months went by, many pets have died of starvation and disease as they struggled to find food and water. A few very brave souls have been defying the law and sneaking into the disaster zone to rescue animals and leave behind food. Animal welfare groups have been begging the government for one simple thing for all these months, legal entry into the zone. Instead the government has … Read entire article »

When people were told to being evacuation as Fukushima Daiichi melted down they were told by officials to leave their pets at home, they would be allowed to return in a few days.
It has been over 200 days.
This has turned out to be one of the more heartbreaking lies of the disaster. Believing the government officials, many in Fukushima left their pets at home. Once people evacuated the evacuation zone was closed and never reopened. People didn’t leave pets behind out of neglect or carelessness, their mistake was believing what they were told. This was compounded by the fact that most shelters would not allow pets. Pet owners had the additional stress and guilt of beloved family members being left behind to an unknown fate.
The government’s response was to do nothing. … Read entire article »